34% of coffee drinkers go to premium coffee places and to get their coffee.

Employees lose 20 to 60 minutes of their work day when they take a coffee run.

Specialty coffee is an $18B industry in the U.S.

Stats from http://www.statisticbrain.com/coffee-drinking-statistics/

Capture those sales in your market by providing specialty coffee single-brew services! Good news is, we’ve already done all of the taste-testing for you … okay, we enjoyed it a little …. maybe A LOT! But we can proudly say that we’ve partnered with the best!

Check out our Newco single cup and specialty brewers to help you capture lost revenue in your market! SHOP HERE

Sign up with PodPack for great coffee, great prices, and customized branding options. Oh, and don’t forget to tell them you are with Three Square Market for a great FREE $100 value starter kit!

Have questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out! Our sales staff can help you make the right decision for your market to capture that top 5 beverage sale you may be missing out on!

KurkJ@32Market.com
DaveL@32Market.com

Have a little time? Watch this hilarious video by Chris Wauben about his love for coffee!

In a great blog series about the Four P’s of micro markets from 2016, Tim Sanford and Emily Jed so into great depth to describe and explain each of the P’s as presented by multiple operators at the ACE show in 2015.

The second P stands for Product. We’ll break down the details for you here:

The definition of Supplier Managment is the various acts of identifying, acquiring and managing the products and/or resources needed to run your business.

Current consumer demands and understanding what your specific customers want is imperative to your micro market success. We would suggest that you use and encourage the use of the suggestion button on Three Square Market kiosks. If you are looking for great suggestions try adding an incentive for products information!

Prevalent Consumer Demands:

Healthier, alternative snacks: Ranging from baked and low-carb selections to gluten-free, organic or all-nature products. Distributors continue to work to bring these products into the industry, but availability can be difficult to source based on region. Bourne suggests, “Operators can do their homework to compile market information that can persuade a distributor to stock desirable new items.”

Brands Matter: 61% consider their brand of choice to be an important attribute of a snack. 73% of consumers look for a favorite brand when choosing a snack.

Sales Surges: An IRI for calendar years 2011 to 2014

Candy 33%

Salty Snacks 32%

Pastry 16%

Meat Snacks 13%

Nuts & Seeds 9%

“Bourne emphasized that precise inventory control is essential in micro markets. Each market should be inventoried at least monthly, and drivers should carry tablet computers with scanners for best, speed and accuracy. Each inventory visit should be followed by preparation of a ‘no scan items’ report, which helps to identify slow-moving items — 15% of market inventory. ‘Watch this,’ he warned. ‘Don’t let your market get sparse; they can’t look unattended.'”

Let us interject here because A) we totally agree and B) Three Square Market has made this process even easier! Check out our intelligent inventory management that will identify each of your products movement/pattern in each market. Also, learn how you can manage your inventory via a smartphone during market visits!

Planograms are essential to micro markets. The object being to apportion space to a product category on the basis of its sales volume. Need a starting point? You can use vending sales as a good place to begin your market planogram and then expand to the added products you’d like to carry.

Bourne said, “Be sure to carry strong local and regional brands, as well as the national best-sellers. … Consumers will search for these products.”

Understanding Placement of Products: (more p’s)

Placement of products in display cases is important. Bourne says, “You should place your top sellers on the bottom shelves,” and goes on to say, “Place impulse, discontinued and high gross-profit items on the top shelves; and put new items at eye level, ideally in the ‘first’ position — closest to the door handle — because that’s where the customer looks first.”

Planograms should be refreshed at least quarterly. Bourne tells us, “Our goal when we do this is to eliminate 10 to 15 items, and introduce 10 to 15 new ones.” Updating promotions in accordance with the market refresh can boost sales and invite new market users.

Pre-kitting can not only make your market restock more efficient but also will free up enough time for your driver to check inventory, ensure cleanliness of the market, face market products, and maximize your market potential.

When dealing with portion sizes for your products, Bourne suggests looking at demographics, stating that “Males tend to want large sandwiches; women often want smaller ones … we try to provide something for everyone.”

Fresh Food Programs:

“Bourne emphasized that a good fresh-food program can be essential in realizing the full earnings potential of a micro market. ‘Fresh food represents 30% of overall sales,’ he reported.”

Fresh food in your micro market is shown to draw added customers to your market and can lead to the increased value of the average purchase. Our writers add, “For best results, it’s important to rotate menu options, slot in seasonal and holiday-themed selections and feature regional favorites, when possible.”

Again, it’s important to understand that supply management of your fresh food is incredibly important and attention to detail in this area is required.

Micro market operators can make price changes in real-time. Bourne gives the example, “Anything that sells for $3 or more and has a sell-by date of today can be discounted to $1.99. You could offer 10% off all sandwich sales on Fridays.”

Another interject … try using our expiration management system to make sure you are staying on top of your expiring products so that you can make these price changes without missing the boat!

Bourne describes a food cooler and freezer layouts … We’ve made images to make it easier to show you!

Destination Grouping:

“Bourne said, the operator should design a micro market installation with ‘destination zones’ in mind. Thus, a ‘breakfast zone’ might position the coffee brewer in proximity to display containing pastry, and an ‘impulse zone’ near the checkout kiosk can feature gum and mint selections.”

Our writers suggest “for purposes of positioning and promotion, it can be useful to remember that the ‘dayparts’ of a typical micro market operation are breakfast, a morning snack (9-11 AM), lunch, an afternoon snack (2-4 PM), and dinner/ride home.

“Bourne concluded by pointing out that snacks, food, and beverages sold in convenience stores … not dissimilar to the one that patronizes micro markets. Both rely very largely on preportioned single-serving products, and he suggested that a solid starting-point for thinking about the expanded variety of items needed to keep a micro market interesting to patrons is to study the data on c-store performance and sales trends published by market research organizations.”

Bottomline:

Your product selection is a major part of your micro market success. Be creative and flexible with your products and planogram, and always keep working on your markets!

As a micro market operator, you know the best thing for your business is to grow your number of location. Sometimes that is easier said than done.

Here are some tips:

We know you’re looking for a qualified business that will make your service profitable. During your introductory phone call, you can gather some of the important details you need to zero in on your target locations, such as staff size, current vending or market situation, office coffee situation, etc.

Although the world is moving towards texting, messages, and email communication, by creating a personal relationship with your target location and making on-site visits you can build a rapport and trust with the business that will help you in your sales pitch. You should always seek to sell in person vs. over the phone.

Want to land the appointment? Ask engaging questions that will help you to understand what the client currently has, and what messages you can tailor to win the account.

During your initial call, you can ask these questions:

What is your current vending situation?

This will prompt your prospect to talk about how many machines they have and what’s in those machines.

Tell me about the kinds of items you have in your vending machines now?

If they are using traditional products at this time, this gives you a great conversation starter about the wide variety of foods and products that can be incorporated into a micro market. Think “Fresh Food, higher quality products all at no cost to the company.”

Do you have employees that work late or overnight shifts?

Off-shift workers are extremely limited in their food options and will benefit immensely from the update to quality, fresh, & meal options of a micro market.

Do you have a calendar in front of you?

This is a great way to almost guarantee an appointment to talk about the benefits of a micro market in person.

Micro market benefits to talk about:

Self-checkout that allows employees to pick up and look at products prior to purchase.

Easy to use, more attractive than vending, lower energy footprint, and often fits in the existing vending space.

If you are reading this you know that the benefits of micro markets are becoming well-known and ever-expanding within our industry. You can increase your chances of successfully landing an account by being the first in the door with your market solution.

What are you waiting for?

We got a lot of this great information from MarketReach! Check out their article here to learn more: http://bit.ly/1aQdOnd

We know the joke … our kiosk looks like a mailbox. BUT that was years ago, and it hasn’t looked like that for a long time. Reality is, that we continue to Upgrade, Enhance, Develop and Grow at a rate that our competition CAN’T and HASN’T kept up with.

Here are the facts:

FACT: Unlike other micro market providers, we don’toutsource our kiosks. At 32M, we design & build our kiosks in-house. AND to top it all off, our kiosks have been thoroughly tested, and yes, have evolved over more than a decade of use through 32M and our sister company, TurnKey Corrections.

Here are a few other inaccuracies you may be lead to believe:

Misconception: 365 Retail Markets is the only micro market provider with PCI certification.

FACT:Three Square Market (32M) currently holds the highest level of PCI (v3.1) and PA-DSS certification of anyone in the industry, including 365.

Misconception: We're selling our business.

FACT:Three Square Market (32M) is growing! We’re a proud family-owned business that isn’t going anywhere! We have markets on 4 continents and we don’t plan on stopping there.

Misconception: You can have the same mobile experience with any provider.

FACT: 32M has a PATENTED mobile checkout process – meaning only with 32M can you have the mobile app checkout option that we provide. Because … well … it’s patented! Check it out for yourself, U.S. Patent Number US9,171,300 B2

More than 75% of Millennials have their mobile devices glued to their palm while in store as a trusted personal shopping assistant and 73% of Millennials are already transacting directly on their mobile devices.

Our Smartphone App is the MOST important tool you can offer …

85% of US Millennials own a smartphone. 32M has an exclusive smartphone checkout application. Available on Android and Apple.A recent study from comScore found that 18% of Millennials, are mobile-only web users, compared to the only 5% of people ages 35-54.

Millennials make up 45% of the workplace, far greater than any other demographic and by 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Millennials will account for 75% of the global workforce.

53% of job recruiters feel it is difficult to attract and retain Millennial talent. Having great employee options like a Break Room Market will increase recruiting potential.

On average a person spends 1/3 of their entire lives at work. Now, 1/3 doesn’t sound like that big of a deal till you look at … the average person works 25-30 years of the average life expectancy (in the US) of 78.74 years. During the half of your lifetime spent working, 60% of your waking time is spent at work!

60%!!!

You deserve a micro market in your workplace. Here’s how you can sell your boss on the idea:

Budget Isn’t A Factor!

As many people know, management is generally MOST concerned with how the budget will be affected. In the U.S., the installation and maintenance of micro market are generally done at NO COST to the business. In fact, a micro market can SAVE a business money. Here’s how:

Company Culture: A buzzword or actual tactic!

In a work world now dominated by the millennial generation, employees are asking how is this company nurturing my work/life balance? Yes, Work Life Balance it’s a real thing … in the best companies!
A micro market is more than just a place to get a snack or some lunch. Micro markets offer so much more than the traditional items and have really become the new office “water cooler” spot. Management can utilize a micro market as an opportunity to reward and engage employees.

Working Hungry? Is it worth it?

Another culture shift in the workplace is employees not taking the time for nutrition. This practice can be detrimental to productivity. Today’s workday is unpredictable and employees spend a lot of time running from one task to another. A micro market resolves many of these issue providing a middle ground for a quick or leisurely breakfast/snack/lunch/dinner/etc. Here is some stat to support this:

31 million Americans skip breakfast each day which decreases blood sugar and brain function.

Having snacks available throughout the day can increase motivation and productivity, and even decrease absenteeism.

Employees who eat healthy all day long are 25% more likely to have higher job performance.

Upgrade the appearance of your space!

A micro market can increase the appearance of your business not only to your employees or future employees but to anyone in your space. Let’s face it a bank of vending machines will never be attractive in your space, but a custom, well-designed, and self-branded market will fit in your location and meld in with your locations aesthetics.

Employee satisfaction & enjoyment!

Is there really anything else to say? Increasing employee satisfaction and workplace enjoyment is always worth the change

Today marks the 46th year of Earth Day celebrations! What exactly is it? Earth Day is a national day to focus on the environment, meant to spark conversation and promote environmentally-safe, sustainable practices into every day life and industry. Why should you care?

Here are 3 significant ways Earth Day can boost your business:

It saves money

Taking sustainable initiatives to reduce your footprint is a win-win. We save our planet, and you save some money. Discover your Personalized Plan to get started!

Before you go out and spend a major chunk of the company’s budget on redesigning a solar panel run, green building, there are simple, low-cost and no-cost changes that can have an impact. Are bathroom lights turned off? Do employee computers get shut down at night? Are electronics and lights turned off at the end of the day? Do you recycle? Are you spraying harmful chemicals from air fresheners into the air? Do you have washable mugs available for employee use, rather than disposable cups? Take a look around your building and pick out small actions you can take to make big changes – I promise they are there!

14-year-old Suvir Mirchandani found a way to save our government $30 million annually, by simply switching to a new font! Read more about this change.

It increases your company’s credibility and strengthens your brand

Most of the Fortune 500 companies issue an annual CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) report. By implementing sustainable and socially responsible programs, companies are able to show their customers that they care. Sure, you want to make money, but you also care about your impact on the planet we all call home. You are aware of your footprint and, furthermore, you are taking actions to address a major global issue. This builds trust in your employees and customers. Keep in mind, sincerity is important here. Make sure you take on initiatives that you can sustain for a long period of time and ones you truly care about. Greenwashing can turn ugly fast and actually have negative effects on your company.

You can gain a competitive advantage

Today, humans are using about 1.6 planet earths to live the way we are. What that means, is that it takes one year and six months to regenerate the resources we use in one year. And this number is rising! It might not be in sight right now, but the thought of losing the resources we need for survival can be a chilling thought. People appreciate companies that are aware of their impact and actively working to reduce it. Some customers will seek out those sustainable, responsible companies to give their business to. When your company and your competitor have a close list of advantages, a green initiative can top off the list to put you ahead!

Take Earth Day Network’s Ecological Footprint Quiz! Figure out how to reduce your own footprint (and how to save some money) by taking the quiz!

Take it upon yourself this Earth Day to research sustainable initiatives you can implement into your business and personal life. It could be as simple as picking up a new recycling bin!

Have an iPhone? From now until April 24th, when you purchase the Earth Story, 100% of the proceeds go to WWF. Search Apps for Earth to learn more!

Three Square Market really is your one stop shop! Our new 32M Merchandisers are the perfect finishing touch to construct a market that looks as First Class as it runs. Give it a polished look and create exponential added value to your break room markets!

32M Merchandisers:

Maximize your ROI

Quality materials, easy assemble

Best pricing

Bundle your entire break room market, from merchandisers and kiosks to equipment and products, at ONE location – your point of sale experts at 32M

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A clean, effective solution for your market needs. Bundle your entire market into one package or update your existing market with a polished look. 32M Merchandisers come unassembled to save you on shipping costs and are easily assembled and set-up with a two person team. Contact us today to learn about our custom options or take a look at our products online at 32MarketStore.com.